A case of 1945 Chateau Latour was the top seller of a 36-hour New York wine auction.

The 12 bottles of Bordeaux First Growth sold for £44,172 at Christies, while a case of 1982 Chateau Lafite Rothschild went for £40,491.

First Growth Bordeaux dominated the sale, with the 1961 vintage proving especially popular - cases from Chateau Haut Brion, Chateau Latour and Chateau Lafite Rothschild all sold for in excess of £24,000.

Robin Kelley O'Connor, head of wine for Christie's Americas, said that the sale was a "wonderful way" to kick-off the spring wine season in New York.

"We saw very strong sell-through rates in the New York portion of this weekend's 36-hour wine sale marathon … As expected, the market remains particularly buoyant for blue-chip Bordeaux," he added.

Chateau Latour wines will feature exclusively at a Christie's sale in Hong Kong on May 27th.

The Bordeaux vineyard will be selling selected vintages from 1863 to 2009 in its ex-cellar auction.